


Ain't No Compass, Ain't No Map

by CirrusGrey



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Episode Related, M/M, Short, bringing back the hadestown au except this time Martin's genre savvy, episode 185 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CirrusGrey/pseuds/CirrusGrey
Summary: SPOILERS FOR MAG 185!!!It is raining. Sheets of water cascade from the sky above, fat droplets splashing heavily into the puddles that gather at Martin's feet. It turns the world into a uniform grey, cold and dead, and the street he stands on is stark and empty in its dreary light.Jon is gone.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 8
Kudos: 68





	Ain't No Compass, Ain't No Map

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Wait For Me" on the Hadestown concept album (the lyrics might be the same in the full musical, I'm not sure)
> 
> This was written after the Patreon release of episode 185 a week ago, with no knowledge of episode 186.

It is raining. Sheets of water cascade from the sky above, fat droplets splashing heavily into the puddles that gather at Martin's feet. It turns the world into a uniform grey, cold and dead, and the street he stands on is stark and empty in its dreary light.

Jon is gone.

His heart hammers in his chest as he looks around wildly, some illogical part of him certain that Jon will appear out of nowhere if he just stares with enough concentration into the rain.

He does not.

Martin takes a deep, deep breath.

Jon had said something about this, he remembers. That the sufferers in Martin's domain are there because they are afraid no one will see them, and therefore  _ Martin  _ cannot see them, no matter how hard he looks. He'd assumed that meant he would  _ only  _ be prevented from seeing the people suffering, and everything else would be normal, but... apparently not. He can't see  _ anyone. _ He can't see Jon.

He takes another deep breath, or tries to, and then has to hold his breath to keep from hyperventilating. It... will be fine. Jon's not in any danger, he's just... not here right now.  _ Martin's  _ not in any danger, Jon said he'd be fine on his own, this world doesn't want to hurt him.

As for the people  _ he's  _ hurting... who are probably all around him at this very moment, hidden from his sight...

There's not much he can do about  _ that, _ either, not at the moment.

_ Christ, _ the dramatic irony of it all. Of course,  _ of course, _ they walked into his domain the  _ minute  _ he made an active choice to ignore someone's suffering, someone pleading for his help. Of course they did.

Martin's really starting to  _ hate  _ dream logic.

He needs to find Jon. It's the only plan that makes sense. Once he finds Jon, Jon can find the way out of here, and they can have a long and in-depth discussion about... morals, or ethics, or  _ something, _ whatever grand philosophy of existence is relevant to being a Watcher who cannot see.

He can't  _ see. _ How is he supposed to find Jon?

A thought occurs.  _ He  _ can't see  _ Jon, _ but... but  _ Jon  _ can see  _ everything, _ right?

Martin clears his throat.

"Jon?"

He pauses. There is no response other than the continued drumming of the rain.

"Jon, if you can hear me," he tries again. "I can't see you right now. I can't see anyone. I- I know you warned me about this, and I- I'm sorry we didn't take the time to plan for it."

He hesitates, chewing on his lip. "I don't think I'll be able to see you at  _ all, _ no matter how long I stay here. Um. So, so I'm going to start walking. Try to find a way out. You have to follow me, okay?" His voice has gone high and shaky. He clears his throat again, trying to steady it. "Just, just stay close, and when we get out I'm going to hug you so hard you won't be able to breathe."

His eyes are stinging. He tries to tell himself it's just the rain.

"Christ, I don't want to go through this alone," he mutters, blinking rapidly, and then speaks louder: "So you'd better be waiting for me on the other side, okay?"

The street is silent.

Martin turns on his heel, facing back towards the tower that he can just barely see on the horizon. He doesn't know if heading straight toward it is the best path available, or if there's a shorter route to be found by turning to one side or the other. He won't know, until he can speak to Jon again, and he just has to trust that Jon will be able to correct their course on the other side if Martin's heading in the wrong direction.

He just has to trust that Jon will  _ be there, _ on the other side.

He wonders if Jon is beside him now, watching him screw up his courage to continue, matching him step for step and sending silent encouragements his way.

The thought makes him stop, rolling his eyes and giving a teary laugh.

"You know," he says, "I always thought Orpheus was foolish for turning around too early. But-" he sighs. "If I could look behind me right now and see  _ you, _ I don't think any threat of retribution would be enough to stop me from taking the risk."

For one long, long moment, he does not move. Then he looks behind him.

The street is empty, save for the rain.

"Okay," he says softly, the word leaving him on a rush of breath. "Okay."

Martin faces the street again, continues walking. "I'll see you on the other side, Jon," he says, voice laced with quiet certainty. "Wait for me."


End file.
